Saturday, April 28, 2012

It's getting really hard to be patient. I mean, I have my good and bad days when it comes to how much I can handle. Honestly, the only time it's easy to be patient are when we are REALLY busy {which, thankfully is most of the time!}. So, I don't even know if you could consider that actual patience, but nonetheless busy weeks help the waiting time go by faster.

With that being said, I truly and wholeheartedly trust in God's plan and timing. I know that He, by far, has a better plan than I ever could. After all, He already knows our child and is loving them at this very moment. When I pray, I ask God to provide a comfort, love, and nourishment to our child that only He is capable of doing. I pray that He would, in His own way, comfort our child in knowing that their Mommy and Daddy are coming to get them as soon as we can. I pray that He would prepare our hearts and minds for that day when we become a Forever family. I pray that our child would come to know, love, and serve Christ as we raise them up in a God-fearing home.

As far as news goes, I have a little bit of information. So far , 17 children have arrived at the orphanage, 4 of which were "referred" to families over the Easter weekend. The other 13 children have been blood-tested, and the agency is getting ready to refer those children as well. As much as I want a referral like NOW, I know that every family in the process feels the same way. The most important thing is that each child gets placed with a family that will love, support, and protect them! We have no clue where we are on the list, so we aren't sure if our child is part of the "13" or not. However, we will know soon enough. Our agency is working diligently to bring other children into the orphanage so that all families will be placed with a child within the next few months.

So, what have we been doing to move our process along during the time that we are waiting? Here's what we've completed:
1. Home Study has been completed and finalized!
2. We have sent off our i600a to the USCIS and it is being processed.
3. We have done our fingerprints and they are being processed.
4. We've started gathering documents for our Dossier like new copies of our marriage certificate, birth certificates, etc.

Can I tell you about a HUGE blessing? And, I truly do not tell you this to brag. I tell you this because God has provided for our family more than we could have ever imagined. On December 23, 2011 I started to sell my teaching materials, units, lesson plans, etc. through a website called Teachers Pay Teachers. I've been blogging for almost a year now, and have received several blessings just from my teaching blog in the way of friendships, support, and an outpouring of love and encouragement. It has also made me become a better teacher and more focused on the success of my students. I was totally against selling anything that I made at first because I am 100% not a salesman. I HATE anything confrontational like that. However, this past December I really felt like it was the right time to start making things for purchase. I still try and do my fair share of just "sharing" because that is still my heart.

Well, God has definitely blessed that plunge that Jared and I took in December. Jared has been SUPER supportive of the time that I spend making and creating materials. It is through the sales on this website that we will fully fund our adoption! In just a few short months God has already provided everything that we need when it comes to our adoption. How could we not give all the glory to God?! There is no other way to explain it :)

So, although I may not be the most patient person in the world (and I really am working on this!), I can't help but to fully rely and depend on my Creator!